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BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s former Prime Minister Sapar Isakov says he has been questioned by investigators over an incident that left parts of the country’s capital city without heating last winter, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — The new, 30th cabinet has been sworn in in Kyrgyzstan, which includes old faces and pursues the old goals left over from the previous governments. We are republishing this article on the issue by Nurjamal Djanibekova, originally published by Eurasianet: There is at least one new thing about Kyrgyzstan’s latest prime minister. In a faintly populist move, Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev, 50, has announced he’s relinquishing his motorcade and says he no longer wants traffic blocked whenever he is passing through town. True to his word, on April 23, he turned up for work without a security detail at 7:30 a.m., in time to avoid the rush hour jam. The new Cabinet approved by parliament and President Sooronbai Jeenbekov last week is thus signaling a change of tone if not, as political commentators argue, of content. The team was put together in remarkably hasty fashion. Abylgaziyev’s predecessor, Sapar Isakov, a neat and boyish 40-year-old, was shoved out the door on April 19 in a humiliatingly comprehensive no-confidence vote in parliament. This administrative spring cleaning appears to be part of efforts by Jeenbekov to expunge the governing elite of the remnant cronies of his ostensibly allied and yet meddling predecessor. Even the main replacement seemed slightly bemused by his new roles. “I will honestly admit that I haven’t managed over this couple of days to draw up an agenda and put together a team,” Abylgaziyev told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing on April 20. “We are just changing the deputy premiers and a few ministers. But the only thing I will be asking of my Cabinet is professionalism. I won’t be holding onto anybody here. Anyone who isn’t up to the job will be fired.” Abylgaziyev was selling himself short though. Personnel changes are taking place across the board. Speaking generally, the people squeezed out had one thing in common — they were confidantes of the former President Almazbek Atambayev, who left office in November at the end of his single permitted six-year term. Atambayev and Jeenbekov are old-time associates, but the two men appear currently to be in the midst of a falling out that has precipitated a clear-out of the former leader’s holdover associates. Isakov was a trusted protege of the ex-president. The same could be said for Ulan Israilov, who has lost his portfolio as Interior Minister. The heads of the Defense Ministry, Health Ministry, Economy Ministry and Emergency Situations Ministry have likewise all been switched out. The Atambayev-appointed head of the powerful security services and the General Prosecutor were jettisoned earlier in the month. The names at the top might have changed, but the faces are anything but fresh. Almost all are long-time civil service veterans and Jeenbekov loyalists. Prior to running for presidential office, Jeenbekov was prime minister, and Abylgaziyev was his deputy PM. After assuming the position of head of state, Jeenbekov appointed Abylgaziyev chief of staff. From 2010 to 2016, Abylgaziyev was head of the Social Fund, the state body responsible for administering...
BISHKEK (TCA) — On April 27 and 28, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will host a two-day forum to introduce Kyrgyzstan’s tourism destinations and new tourism products to tour operators from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The forum “Discover Kyrgyzstan: Trends, Opportunities, and Innovations” will bring together over 200 representatives of tour operators and tourism organizations from across the country to help them connect with their counterparts in Central Asia. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — A multi-country program to support the forestry sector and manage natural resources in Central Asia will soon be underway, as representatives meet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan to finalize details, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Continue reading
ASHGABAT (TCA) — Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid-Reza Araqi says by next month, Iranian and Turkmen experts will investigate Iran-Turkmenistan differences concerning the natural-gas dispute between the two countries and the sides hope to reach an agreement on the issue so that the case is not referred to international arbitration, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported on April 24. Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — The Afghan Taliban group has announced the launch of its annual spring offensive. Continue reading
